Manufacturer GAZ Body style Jeep Related | Production 1940–42
646 produced Layout F4 layout Engine 3.3L GAZ M1 I4 | |
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The GAZ-64 was a 4x4 vehicle made by GAZ (Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, translated as Gorky Automobile Plant, a cooperation between Ford and the Soviet Union), succeeding the earlier GAZ-61 which was totally reconstructed in a very short period (3 February – 25 March 1941) under the leadership of Vitaliy Grachev. Over 90,000 were produced in total, but the majority of the wartime production went to produce the BA-64 armoured car.
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Design
The curb weigh of the car was 1,200 kg (2,646 lb). It was powered by a 3285 cc, inline-4 engine giving 50 hp (37 kW) and a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). It was produced using existing commercially available parts.
Development
The GAZ-64 was developed from a requirement developed during the 1940 war between the Soviet Union and Finland. Although it appears superficially similar to the American Jeep, it was developed using commercially available parts already available in the Soviet Union.
It was designed to replace the earlier GAZ-61, which was totally reconstructed in a very short period (3 February – 25 March 1941) under the leadership of Vitaly Grachev to create a 4×4 jeep, which was named the GAZ-64. It was later succeeded by the more popular GAZ-67 and the GAZ-67B. The GAZ-64 and GAZ-67 were the basis for later and more successful BA-64 armoured car.
Production
646 GAZ-64s were made between March 1941 and summer 1942 by the GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod company. The name was translated from the Gorky automobile plant, a cooperation between the company Ford and the Soviet Union.
Due to the availability of American made Jeeps provided by the American Lend-Lease program, the majority of wartime production of the GAZ-64 was dedicated to the BA-64 armored car. Due to GAZ-64 production being tied to BA-64 production, only around 2,500 were produced during the war. Post war production continued, and more than 90,000 GAZ-64 were produced by the time production ended in 1953.